BALTICA10

IMAGES ON THE STONES AT SCEBIARAKY
VILLAGE IN NORTH-WEST BELARUS
ANDREI PROKHOROV
Abstract
This paper focuses on five stones with ancient incised images containing the symbol of a pole with a semicircle or a cross at
its top. This symbol had a cosmological meaning and represented a projection of the “heavenly sphere” onto a flat surface.
The strict orientation of the stones and the symbols to the north indicates a ceremonial “world axis” directed to North Star.
This symbol of the “world axis” was used during funerary rituals at gravestones The Scebiaraky site is an example of Baltic
sacred stones (stabas) in the Baltic-Slavic contact zone.
Key words: sacred stones, mythological “world axis”, “heavenly sphere”, funeral ritual, stone barrows, stone burials, Baltic-
Slavic contact zone, ritual crosses.
ARCHAEOLOGIA BALTICA 10
Introduction
In the 1990s a group of five stones was documented at
the village of Scebiaraky in the Vilejka region of northwest
of Belarus (Fig. 1).
The stones are located in a forest, one behind the other,
forming a line. The first contains a slightly inclined image
of a pole with a triangle at its top and a horn turned
upwards. A similar image is depicted on the second
stone. The third stone contains the simplest image –
just a pole with a semicircle at its top. On the fourth
stone is a distinctive cross on a pole and a horn turned
upwards. The final image, on the last stone, contains
a pole with a semicircle together with a small cross
(or possibly another semicircle) at its top and a horn
turned downwards.
The stones at Scebiaraky village are absolutely unique
in Belarus. They contain the only examples of images
of a horn in the territory of the republic. The long vertical
line – a particular representation of a “pole” – is
common to the images on all the stones, although different
compositions – triangle, semicircle and cross –
are found at its top.
No image in the Scebiaraky complex is repeated and it
is possible to suppose a certain system in this sequence
of images. The consecutive arrangement of images on
the stones fits the idea that they were a single composition.
This is especially important, because in other
cases we deal with separate images on single stones.
Naturally, it is necessary to combine possible mythological
parallels in order to attempt a decoding of these
symbols’ meaning. In hoping to propose and explain
mythological parallels to the symbol set, it is necessary
to use materials from the folk cultures of the Balts
(Lithuanians, Latvians and surviving fragments of religious-mythological
ideas of other tribes), and Slavs
(primarily Belarusians). In short we are dealing with
cultural phenomena of the Baltic-Slavic contact zone.
The astronomical hypothesis
The key fact is that the Scebiaraky stones are strictly
arranged on a North-South line. If an observer watches
the images he looks due North. Such precision in the
arrangement could not arise by chance. At that time,
such an accurate orientation to the North was only possible
by using astronomy. That is why we are able to
assume that the images had (at least partly) a cosmological
meaning that was connected and included into
concrete astronomical movement. The orientation to
the North means that the symbols are connected with
the northern constellations and, primarily, with the
North Star (Pole Star). An observer could see it over
the stone complex at night.
The direct orientation to the North shows that the
symbol of a pole with a semicircle could have been
comprehended as a mythological axis connecting the
terrestrial world with the North Star. The name of the
North Star is connected with a concept such as a column,
pole, or nail in many parts of the world, including
our region. Belarusians named the North Star ‘the Big
Column’ (Karpenko 1985, p.22). The name ‘Column’ is
widespread in some regions of Russia and among other
Slavic peoples, as well as among Estonians, Mongols
and Turks. Polish Catholic legend supported the idea
that there exists a pole connecting the North Star with
hell (Cetwiński, Derwich 1987, p.189).
A possible conclusion is that the image of a pole with
a semicircle is a graphic representation of the heavenly
sphere. As such, it is the simplest representation
V
V. REFLECTIONS
OF ASTRO-
NOMICAL AND
COSMOLOGICAL
KNOWLEDGE IN
MONUMENTS,
LANDSCAPES
AND
ARCHITECTURE
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